These are the newest craft beers in town

Tap them STAT for a hoppy ending

We’re sitting at a café in Lower Parel, Mumbai, glugging the Thirsty Sexy Pig. It’s been a long day, and this light Belgian Wit beer with a slight tang, feels like an old friend. This newest craft beer in town comes from Thirsty Beers, which has kept itself quite low-key prior so far. After launching two bottled/canned beers over the last couple of years – Happy and Simona – they are revving up to get you chugging their spanking new beers on tap, and opening up a craft beer bar in Mumbai.

Tell me about the beers

So, apart from taking Happy and Simona to the tap, Thirsty Beers have now revealed four new variants. Lenox the Knight is their version of the Indian Pale Ale (with a smooth, well-rounded bitterness that might even appeal to non-IPA fans though it might displease those who prefer their bitterness amped), the Kick Ass Kölsch Ale (fun, and easy), the Ninja (a rich, chocolate stout), and the aforementioned Thirsty Sexy Pig (refreshing and light).

Who’s the one keeping our hops alive?

This dude called Vir Kotak whose résumé will put yours to shame is the one behind Thirsty Beers. Kotak is a New Delhi-based visual artist, a restorer of classic American cars, and a shipping scion who stumbled upon China’s most famous beer brand, Tsingtao, while in Qingdao. “I fell in love with that beer, and started importing it to India, along with a Bavarian wheat beer,” he tells us. “I like to build stuff, so I started thinking of how I can make quality beers for Indian markets. It’s not hard to make beer but it’s hard to make a well-balanced one. After much research, we decided to produce our beers at a brewery in Bosnia.”

Didn’t you say something about a beer bar?

While the new beers are available at bars in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Pune and Bengaluru, the guys at Thirsty are kickstarting a new craft beer bar called 127 Thirsty City, in a couple of months. It will take the place of The Barking Deer in Mumbai, using their brewing operations to create new brews. This will not just have around 10 beers on tap including some seasonal specials but also a menu pairing the beers and other cocktails on offer, with food. We ale-ready can’t wait.